France

Facts & Figures

Map of France
  • President: Emmanuel Macron (2017)

    Prime Minister: Élisabeth Borne (2022)

    Land area: 247,270 sq mi (640,427 sq km); total area: 248,572 sq mi (643,801 sq km)

    Population (2022 est.): 68,305,148 (growth rate: 0.32%); birth rate: 11.66/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.15/1000; life expectancy: 82.59

    Capital and largest city (2022 est.): Paris, 11.142 million

    Other large cities: Lyon 1.748 million; Marseille-Aix-en-Provence 1.620 million; Lille 1.073 million; Toulouse 1.049 million; Bordeaux 991,000 (2022)

    Monetary unit: Euro (formerly French franc)

    National name: République Française

    Current government officials

    Languages: French (official) 100%, declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish, Occitan, Picard); note - overseas departments: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect)

    Ethnicity/race: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian), Indochinese, Basque minorities

    Religions: Roman Catholic 47%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 2%, Buddhists 2%, Orthodox 1%, Jewish 1%, other 1%, none 33%, unspecified 9%

    National Holiday: Fete de la Federation, July 14

    Literacy rate: 99% (2011 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2020 est.): $2,832,170,000,000; per capita $42,000. Real growth rate: 1.49%. Inflation: 1.1%. Unemployment: 8.12%. Arable land: 33.4%. Agriculture: wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 27.742 million; services 77.2%, industry 20%, agriculture 2.8% (2020). Industries: machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism. Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorospar, gypsum, timber, fish. Exports: $746.91 billion (2020 est.): machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages. Major trading partners (exports): Germany 14%, United States 8%, Italy 7%, Spain 7%, Belgium 7%, United Kingdom 7% (2019). Imports: $803.66 billion (2020 est.): machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals. Major trading partners (imports): Germany 18%, Belgium 9%, Italy 9%, Spain 7%, China 7%, Netherlands 6%, United Kingdom 5% (2019).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 37.759 million (2020); mobile cellular: 72.751 million (2020). Broadcast media: a mix of both publicly operated and privately owned TV stations; state-owned France Televisions operates 4 networks, one of which is a network of regional stations, and has part-interest in several thematic cable/satellite channels and international channels; a large number of privately owned regional and local TV stations; multi-channel satellite and cable services provide a large number of channels; public broadcaster Radio France operates 7 national networks, a series of regional networks, and operates services for overseas territories and foreign audiences; Radio France Internationale (RFI), under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a leading international broadcaster; a large number of commercial FM stations, with many of them consolidating into commercial networks (2008). Television broadcast stations: 584 (plus 9,676 repeaters). Internet hosts: 17.266 million (2012). Internet users: 57,272,921 (2020).

    Transportation: Railways: total: 29,640 km (2014). Roadways: total: 1,028,446 km; paved: paved: 951,220 km (including 10,490 km of expressways); unpaved: 0 km (2011). Waterways: 8,500 km (1,686 km accessible to craft of 3,000 metric tons) (2011). Ports and harbors: Bordeaux, Calais, Dunkerque, La Pallice, Le Havre, Marseille, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg. Airports: 464 (2021 est.).

    International disputes: Madagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands, east of New Caledonia.

    Major sources and definitions

    Rulers of France

    French Overseas Departments

    French Overseas Territories

    French Territorial Collectivities

    French Possessions

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